Troi said:
Thanks Wolfwood and Devilish! As it is the question is can a Bahranini diplomatic immunity overrule an extradition to the US if Michael Jackson faces a Feds case in the US because of those children's passports?
Whoa...I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. Diplomatic immunity is given by a host nation to appointed and recognized representatives of a foreign government. Even if the Bahraini royal family gave MJ Bahraini citizenship, I extremely doubt they'd then make him a representative of their government and send him abroad as such. Assuming if they did, it would still be up to each foreign nation to choose to recognize him as such and accept his credentials.
Let's look at a few more likely scenarios.
A. MJ is granted residency (not citizenship) in Bahrain and keeps his US citizenship.
B. MJ is granted Bahraini citizenship and continues to keep his US citizenship.
C. MJ is granted Bahraini citizenship and renounces his US citizenship.
Before we go any further, I should note that MJ cannot renounce Prince 1's and Paris' US citizenship on their behalf. They are and will continue to remain US citizens unless/until they reach legal age and choose to renounce it themselves. I have no idea if Blanket has US citizenship, so his status is unclear.
Back to MJ. How would each of these scenarios affect his life?
A. Not much difference. He'd have the legal right to live and work in Bahrain, permanently if he so chose.
B. Not much difference. He'd have the legal right to live and work in Bahrain, permanently if he so chose. He could leave and re-enter Bahrain at his pleasure. As a US citizen, he'd continue to have the right to live in the US, and enter and leave the US at his pleasure.
C. Now we're hitting a few issues. MJ would travel on a Bahraini passport. Once he's no longer a US citizen, he would no longer have the right to enter and leave the US at whim. He could also only reside in the US if the US gov't permitted him to do so.
He'd still have his US tax obligations for a long time to come. The IRS automatically assumes that anyone with assets worth more than a half-million dollars who renounces his/her citizenship is doing it as a tax dodge, and they immediately go after that person, charging a very stiff 'exit tax'. Plus, former US citizens continue to be subject to US taxes for ten years after renunciation.
More bad news, for a celebrity: He'd have his name published in the Federal Register as having voluntarily renounced his US citizenship. Federal law says the names of everyyone renouncing US citizenship shall be published on a quarterly basis in the Federal Register to ensure it becomes public knowledge, in order to dissuade citizens from doing so. At that point, he'd become not just right-wing talk show fodder, but the target of nutcase hyper-patriots who'd doubtless threaten and harass him for his decision. Like his being criminally charged with child molestation, the fact that he'd voluntarily renounced his US citizenship would garner him negative press - at least in certain sections of the US media - for the rest of his life.
In all three scenarios, if MJ had a criminal warrant issued for him by a US court, and then ever set foot in a country that has an extradition treaty with the US, he could be seized and brought back to the US to face those charges - even if he was then a Bahraini citizen. (Remember the foreign terrorists who had US warrants issued for their arrest.) This is more likely to be an issue if it was a US federal charge, but even state or local criminal charges could make it risky for him to travel.
That would play merry hell with any travel plans he may ever have, just for starters. And it's doubtful MJ would be content living out the rest of his life in as small a region as Bahrain/Oman/Dubai. There are comparatively few countries in the world that he could travel to where he wouldn't risk being arrested on outstanding warrants.
And there, by the way, also goes the f'loon fantasies of another
world concert tour.
Finally, his US-based assets would still risk seizure to satisfy court judgements and creditors, as he's learning with his debts to Fortress.
There's one other potential issue. We know MJ has a positive genius for alienating his friends and business associates. He's in with the Bahraini royal family now - but who'd want to bet on him still being in their good graces two or three years from now? Even if he were given residency or citizenship by them, if he annoyed them sufficiently I'm sure they'd let him know he's no longer welcome in their country. It's his talent for using and abusing the friendship of powerful people that has me thinking he can't count on the royal family's protection and support. Not forever, that's for sure.
You do have a point about his using people. He already burned bridges with Prince Al Walid Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia (10 years ago as a matter of fact) and him living in Bahrain will just accelerate the process. I mean, he has impersonators making whatever few public appearences over here (yet the press keeps trying to convince us otherwise...as if we can't see that "MJ" in those pics doesn't have a full nose and a normal chin, hehe...)
